Friday, 26 June 2015

Friday morning ramble

So Wellington Council introduced a “living wage” hourly rate for workers. So workers worked fewer hours. So Wellington Council extends the “living wage” to contractors. So ratepayers stump up the difference. Welfare state today - the good and the bad – LINDSAY MITCHELL

“If the Minister isn't signing off on an $11 million dollar transaction, there's something wrong with his management. If he did sign off this $11 million dollar transaction, then there's something wrong with his judgement.” – Taxpayer’s Union. 'Outrageous' new pad for UN man – STUFF

“New Zealand MPs are so keen to be seen to be "doing something" about cyber-bullying that they are about to pass a poor piece of law that will do something terrible.” “If Harmful Digital Communications Bill passes, MPs who feel sad because of a media story can have the publisher jailed.” - NRTJe ne suis pas Charlie say NZ MPs: eroding free speech – Tim Watkin, PUNDIT

“More valuable than a tool to preserve objects, of course, air conditioning is a tool to preserve lives. Two years ago, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a study concluding that air conditioning reduced heat-related deaths in the United States by 80 percent and could save even more lives in hotter, often poorer countries.” Pope Francis Is Wrong about Air Conditioning – NATIONAL REVIEW

“South Pacific Islands are not sinking. Claims they are due to global warming driven sea level rise are opportunistic.” Pacific Islands Not Sinking – CLIMATISM

“Industrial turbines that only last ten years and that are predominately made in China using Australian coal! Talk about shifting ’emissions’.” Wind Turbines: lucky to last 10 Years – STOP THESE THINGS

“Faith – believing claims without sufficient evidence, or claiming to know things that you don’t or can’t know – is an increasingly shaky endeavor. And in order for religious faith to survive, it requires a lot of social support: the more people who share it, the easier it is to maintain and reproduce. Thus, anyone who rejects the tenets of your faith, or calls them in to question, is a threat.” Why [Religious] Americans Hate Atheists – Phil Zuckerman, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

“Faith is properly used to describe a belief commitment made beyond the evidence. It is meant to be the gap-closer. Faith almost always is an emotion-driven process in which one wills oneself to believe that which one wants to be true… So in more abstract language, the question is of the relationship between reason and emotion ...” Are Reason and Faith Compatible? – STEPHEN HICKS

“"If Westerners want to win the cultural war against Islam, we must be willing to recognize—and to openly acknowledge—the fundamental and relevant truths of the matter. Those truths include the fact that Islam *is* a religion, and the fact that faith is *not* a means of knowledge. Conservatives are uncomfortable with these facts because they are religious themselves, and they want religion and faith to be good things. But discomfort with facts doesn’t alter them. And wanting things to be good doesn’t make them so.” Yes, Conservatives, Islam Is a Religion – Craig Biddle, THE OBJECTIVE STANDARD

I'm not convinced that faith can move mountains, but I've seen what it can do to skyscrapers.- William H. Gascoyne

"After three Uber rides in the last two weeks, not only am I more convinced about the value that the so-called 'sharing economy' is providing, but I have been struck by the way technology helps to solve the fundamental problem of the marketplace." Uber Solves the Fundamental Problem of the Marketplace – Steven Horwitz, THE FREEMAN

“As new, more efficient firms like Uber enter the market, old taxi companies are getting forced out of business by creative destruction — but they aren't going down without a fight.” Sabotaging Uber: The Umpire Strikes Back – THE FREEMAN

“A deep rot has set into Political Correctness. Hell is freezing over and pigs can now fly… So let my contribution be an indication of how philosophy has laid the groundwork for this phenomenon and how only philosophy can get us out.” Understanding Triggers and Microaggression as Strategy – Stephen Hicks, EVERY JOE

Remember yesterday when I said 1967 was a golden year for television? A golden year for the television partnership of Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee too, who died yesterday. Vale Paddy Nee. This, from that golden year:

And this from a charming reunion a few years later on an otherwise substandard American sitcom. But they did finally get to kiss …

And finally, the finale of a long piece, with a decent build-up, but if you were never to hear another piece of music again …

No comments:

Post a Comment

1. Commenters are welcome and invited. 2. All comments are moderated. Off-topic grandstanding, spam, and gibberish will be ignored. Tu quoque will be moderated.3. Read the post before you comment. Challenge facts, but don't simply ignore them.4. Use a name. If it's important enough to say, it's important enough to put a name to.5. Above all: Act with honour. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.